New church bell chime

Monday, 3rd June 2013 was a very special day for the Marktkirche parish. After signing the golden book of the state capital of Wiesbaden, the Dutch royal couple, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, festively inaugurated the new church bell chime. It will replace the simple quarter-hour chime from the 98 metre high tower of the Marktkirche in the future. The Marktkirche carillon was built in 1986 by the Dutch bell foundry Koninklijke Eijsbouts from Asten and is one of the largest in Germany. After the maker augmented the instrument with eight automated hammers for the large bells in autumn 2012, the new chime, which will strike on the quarter-hour from 7.15 a.m. to 9.45 p.m., was inaugurated directly beside the 'Schweiger' monument (Prince William of Orange-Nassau – one of King Willem-Alexander's ancestors) in front of the Nassau state cathedral.

Cantor Jörg Frank composed a theme for the new quarter-hourly chimes that is made up of six different notes. The first four-note theme rings every quarter-hour after the hour respectively. On the half-hour, the first theme is varied (played in a different order), and a second part (using two new notes) is added. On the third quarter-hour respectively, a new variation of the first part is played. The second part is now varied in exactly the same way, and as third part, an already heard variation of the first part joins in. On the hour, all four parts of the entire theme then chime in a new sequence of notes respectively. The largest bell (2.2 tons) is reserved for the closing chime of the melody.

Thanks to the clear structure of the note sequence due to the length of the theme (quarter = four strikes / half = eight strikes / three-quarter = twelve strikes / full hour = sixteen strikes), the quarter-hour being chimed is still recognisable. On the hour, the respective number of strikes will – as has been the case to date – strike after the melody. During the night between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., the usual simple quarter-hourly chime will strike.